


Find Me By The Summer Stars

by pansexualitea



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Altean Lance (Voltron), Angst, Fluff, Galra Keith (Voltron), M/M, More Tags Will Be Added as the Story Goes On, confused humans, eek, idk how to tag, the s t r e s s, there's gon be lots of gay wait til you see, this is my first fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-24
Updated: 2017-03-05
Packaged: 2018-09-26 17:52:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9914114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pansexualitea/pseuds/pansexualitea
Summary: Allura, Coran and Lance have been woken up after 10,000 years, the war still at its peak.The pilot of the Red Lion may also be Galra.Shiro, Pidge and Hunk are mostly confused about it all.Or, the Prince AU no one asked for.





	1. Chapter 1

Shiro, Pidge and Hunk had just arrived in a castle, in outer space, on a planet, far from any other planet or constellation they knew. They were currently walking through a long hallway, that lit up every few steps, the only sound amongst them hushed whispers of wonder. They soon arrived in a wide room, also all lit up. At the centre of it was what looked like a control panel. Pidge walked towards it, unsure of what exactly was going to happen; this was, after all, an alien experience. 

“How do you think this works?” They glanced at Shiro and Hunk, both by their side. “It looks like it’s written in some odd language, I don’t recognise those symbols –”

Suddenly, there was a whooshing sound, and out of the floor came out glass pods. Pidge thought they could see some human-like figures, but it couldn’t be, right? This was a planet which, sure, seemed to have breathable air and water and organic matter, but still.

Then, like an answer to her thoughts, three pods opened. Out of one fell a middle-aged man, with an enormous ginger moustache, out of another a gorgeous woman, all dark skin and silver hair and sharp lines, and out of the last a boy, who must have been the same age as Hunk.

The woman, caught by Shiro, as if awakened from a deep slumber, suddenly started screaming for her father. The boy ran towards her, pushed Shiro away and took her into his arms.

“Allura,” he said in a soft voice, “are you ok? You should be resting, we just woke up and we don’t know who these people are or why they are here, in our castle.” The last part of what he as saying had been said louder, and was more directed as a question to the three humans. 

“Uh, we’re humans, from, uh, Earth?” Hunk said, hesitantly, shifting on his feet, “And we didn’t mean to wake you up, we were just brought here by a massive green lion –”

“A green lion?” Allura, if that was the woman’s name, exclaimed, incredulous. Humans, in control of one of the lions of Voltron? That couldn’t possibly be.

She rushed towards the control panel, and saw out of the corner of her eye Coran and the smallest of the three humans poking at each other; humans were strange little creatures. And then her eyes widened. On the dashboard as all the information about the castle and its surroundings: the condition it was in, the planet it was on, and the year they were in.

“We’ve been asleep,” she paused, a wobble in her voice, “for ten thousand years!” Lance and Coran’s eyes opened, wide. “Which means,” she continued, “that we are what is left of the Alteans. Lance, my father put us in the pods, hoping we would escape the tyranny of Zarkon. And we did, but at what cost! Everything is lost and –”

“Zarkon?” Shiro’s voice came out of the blue. He had just gotten over the fact that in front of him was standing aliens, who were thousands of years old, but also the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. “I was captured by Zarkon, for over a year. I managed to escape and when I landed on Earth, these two,” he indicated at Pidge and Hunk, “came to save me. And a few hours later, we arrived here.”

“But how did you find the Green Lion? It was supposed to be hidden, not available to any human that came across its path!”

“Well, this is all our friend Pidge’s fault, really.” Hunk pointed towards Pidge, who wore a sheepish smile.

They started explaining the whole story. Hunk and Pidge were teammates in the Garrison, an international space-travel school, that trained young people to become astronauts, to travel to space. (“Like a pre-NASA military academy, really”, they clarified, which left the three Alteans even more confused.) For a few months, they had been recording signals that came from space, with a computer they had built themselves, but recently the signals had increased, and there was a clear coding line that was repeated, over and over again: Voltron. 

One night, Pidge took Hunk out with them, wanting to understand the signals better, and who better than Hunk, the top engineering student at the Garrison, would help them? And as they were sitting on the roof, recording stronger and stronger wave lengths, an extraterritorial space ship raced down from the sky and landed with a humongous crash just next to the Garrison’s establishment. The two friends had gone to see what it was, and were met with Shiro, with whom they escaped. The three of them had then been guided towards a few rocky hills, where they found the green lion, surrounded by flashy wall drawings. And cue their presence, in a castle millions and millions of miles away from home, talking to the three Alteans.

After a few beats of silence, Allura started talking, in a very formal manner. “We haven’t been properly introduced. My name is Allura, princess of Altea and daughter of King Alfor. Here is my cousin, Lance. His whole family stayed with us in this castle – it’s big enough! And this is –”

“My name is Coran, royal advisor and guardian of Altean resources. I was also in charge of reparations, which is why people called me Coranic –”

The three humans blinked at him.

“– because it rhymes with mechanic –”

Pidge and Hunk shared a confused glance, while Shiro looked at Coran, unsure.

“Coranic the mechanic, quite a name, don’t you think?”

He looked at them, toying with his moustache, a smirk in his eyes. Shiro coughed and turned to Allura and Lance.

“My name is Shiro, this is Pidge, and over there is Hunk. We don’t exactly know what we’re doing here, or why that green lion brought us here.” He offered Allura a shy smile, and she reciprocated it. She waved her hand and asked them to follow her.

The 6 individuals were walking through long corridors, each in pairs: at the front, Shiro and Allura, exchanging short sentences on space, Altean life, and human life. Following them were Coran and Pidge, both marvelling about their respective technology. Finally, lagging a bit behind were Lance and Hunk, who had hit it off straight away, because they shared a similar sense of humour.

They then arrived in another big room, shaped like an arc. The three humans were left speechless at this room; facing them was a glass wall, and they could see the expanse of the planet, which they had learnt was called Arus. Allura walked towards the control panel which was at the centre of the room, placed her hands on it, and the lights suddenly turned off, while millions of stars and constellations appeared around the room.

“You talked about Voltron, Pidge, when you told us the story of discovering the Green Lion,” she started, looking in wonder at the star-filled sky, “so I guess you’d like to know what Voltron is, am I correct?” Shiro, Pidge and Hunk nodded, still speechless and in awe of the sight that met their eyes.

“Voltron is the strongest weapon the galaxy has. it was created by my father, King Alfor to protect the universe against evil forces. During the last war, a war that we fought over ten thousand years ago against Emperor Zarkon and its Galra Forces, but that’s still going, according to Shiro, my father insisted on hiding the Lions, 5 Lions that form Voltron, all over the universe, and decided to protect Coran, Lance and I, too, probably thinking it would only last a few months.”

She stopped, and breathed in, slowly. 

“Now, you should all know that each Lion has its own specific personality, and it usually chooses its pilot.” As she said those words, a hologram of each Lion appeared: a blue one, a red one, a black one, a yellow one and a green one.

“The Green Lion is the Guardian Spirit of the Forest. It is the left arm of Voltron and is the most adventurous of the five Lions. It has an inquisitive nature, and that is why it chose you, Pidge. 

“The Yellow Lion is the Guardian Spirit of Earth. It has a warm heart, and will protect its team at all costs. It is the leg of Voltron, the one we rely on; Hunk, you will be the pilot of the Yellow Lion.

“The Black Lion is the Guardian Spirit of the Sky. Its pilot is a natural leader, who is calm and collected when faced with danger. It is the head of Voltron and that is why it is you, Shiro, who will be its pilot.

“The Blue Lion is –”

“The Blue Lion is the Guardian Spirit of Water and Ice. It is the right leg of Voltron and it is the most sociable and fun Lion of the whole bunch.” Lance had spoken all of this, with a proud smile adorning his face.

“Lance is the Blue Paladin, if you hadn’t understood by his unnecessary remark. He was appointed, by my father before the war started, to be the heir to the Blue Lion if anything were ever to happen to its current Paladin. He must at least be happy about something now.” Allura shot him a harsh glance, to which he shrugged. “I was simply trying to help!”

“Finally,” Allura finished, “the Red Lion is the Guardian Spirit of Fire. It is the right arm of Voltron. It is also the fastest and most agile Lion. This however means that it is the hardest to tame, it is very temperamental. It relies more on instinct than skill.” She paused, discomfort drawn over her face. “However, we do not have any pilot for the Red Lion. It is rare to find one, as the Red Paladin must earn the Red Lion’s respect, more so than for any other Lion.”

The four Paladins looked at each other. These four people, all so different, and mostly strangers, were soon going to become the closest people could ever become. They would know each other so well that they would know what was hiding in the far corner of one of their minds. When forming Voltron, they would breathe in the same pattern, and think of a plan at the same time.

“Where are the Lions though?” Pidge inquired. “If they’ve been scattered all over the universe, how on Earth are we expected to find them?”

“This map”, answered Allura, “shows the location of all of the Lions, apart from the Red one. Good news, the Green Lion is where the Black Lion is.”

“That’s here!”

“That’s correct. My father locked the Black Lion in the castle, and it would only be unlocked if the other four Lions were there. The Yellow and Blue Lions are on two peaceful planets, awaiting their Paladins return. Pidge, you will accompany Hunk to his Lion, using yours. Shiro, you and Lance will be going to bring his back home. Coran will lend you a small ship to get there. I will open for you two wormholes – portals, if you wish – so you can get there faster. However, I can only last two of your Earth hours. After all, I just woke up from a ten-thousand-year sleep!” She paused. “Now, Paladins, here are your suits.” 

She showed them to a door on the left, which opened onto what looked like a big closet. In there were five suits, all matching their respective Lions.

Once they were all suited up, Allura walked towards them with a box in her hands.

“Here are your Bayards.” She opened the box. “They are your weapons. You each have one, matching your Lion and your suit. Unfortunately, Shiro, we lost yours in a fight.” She looked at him, apologetically. 

“It’s ok, don’t worry!” He smiled back at her.

Lance took his, and hollered when it transformed into a rifle; he had always been the sharpest shot in his class. Hunk’s Bayard became a cannon, while Pidge’s became an arrow-shaped blade. Lance started laughing at Pidge when he saw her weapon, because in what universe would it be possible to fight properly with that thing, to which Pidge electrocuted him. So, her Bayard also was an electric shock prod; cool. 

“Coran has prepared your ships.” Allura’s voice rang through the intercom on their helmets, and when they had all reached their rides: “Go, and good luck!”

 

-

 

Meanwhile, far, far away, Emperor Zarkon was looking at one of his fleets through the windows, when Haggar walked up to him and whispered words he had always feared.

“There’s been recordings of activity and life of Princess Allura and Prince Lance.”

Keith was behind the closed door, listening to every word his uncle and the Druid were exchanging. Finally, some fun around the castle.

 

-

 

The four Paladins had returned from their respective planets, alive. Though Lance had started complaining to Allura as soon as he set foot in the castle, because “That planet was not peaceful AT ALL. What kind of idea is it to send the Prince of Altea there? Something awful could have happened to me!” And so on, and so on.

The six of them had reunited in front of the main control panel, after they had all took their breaths: they had to decide how to find the Red Lion and take it back to the castle.

“I have some good news for you Paladins!” Coran had announced once they were all there and listening. “The Red Lion is just nearby of Arus!”

“That is good news!” Hunk had exclaimed, but when Allura and Coran hadn’t reciprocated his enthusiasm, he hesitated “Right?”

“It all depends on the intensity and spectrum of what you call ‘good news’, really,” Coran started.

“Indeed, Coran.” Allura continued, “While the Red Lion isn’t far away, it is on board a Galra ship.” To this, she elicited a few gasps. “But I don’t think we need to be panicking. It’s only a small one, and it’s not a whole fleet. We just need to think of a strategy, quickly, because I don’t think the Galra will be any bit merciful.”

Suddenly, a screen appeared and, on it, Zarkon.

“Paladins, we are coming for you. Surrender the Lions to us, and there will not be any collateral damages. We already have the Red Lion in our possession, and we won’t be afraid to use violence to take possession of the others.”

The communication cut off, and all their faces were drawing the same expression: fear. None of them had ever really fought a battle, much less against Zarkon. What if they weren’t good enough? What if they died out there? What if –

“If I may,” Shiro said, interrupting their thoughts, and all turned to look at him, “I believe I have an idea. You see, at the Garrison I used to be top class in most subjects, but especially in military strategy. So, I think I have an idea. 

“Hunk and Pidge, you two will go to the front of the ship. You will pretend to surrender the Yellow and Green Lions; Zarkon only knows we have the Green one, so he’ll be surprised by the other one. Meanwhile, Lance and I will be going in by the bottom of the ship, with your Lion, Lance. We’ll infiltrate it then, and we’ll try to find the Red Lion.”

“What if they attack us though?” Hunk asked, being the voice of reason – always.

“You counter attack. Your Lions have capabilities and strengths that we can’t even come close to imagining, and we must use them. Don’t be afraid of casualties, as long as it’s not any of us.”

And the thing is, the plan could have worked perfectly. It all would have been all fine and dandy, and they would all be back at the castle nice and early to eat a well-deserved dinner. They would have all the Lions, the Galra ship would be destroyed, and the galaxy would be a step closer to being safer and sounder.

Pidge and Hunk had successfully distracted the Galra officers, had nearly been blown off by an enormous laser, and had fought back. Their Lions, for some odd reason, knew what to do, and fought with them. Every single small attack from the Galra ship was countered by a stronger one from the Green and Yellow Paladins and their Lions.

Lance and Shiro had also successfully entered the ship and had, thanks to their weird Paladin instincts, found the door that lead to the Red Lion. And it was all going perfectly well until they saw, leaning against one of the Lion’s legs, a Galra boy.

But nothing ever goes to plan, thought Lance as he stood face to face with the intruder.

 

-

 

Keith had been caught overhearing the conversation between Haggar and Zarkon as Haggar left the room and opened the door. She was so silent, deathly silent, that he hadn’t heard her walk – float? – towards the door and open it. He fell through, head first on the ground. He looked up and was faced with a sneer from Haggar, who left the room, and a star from Zarkon. Was his uncle disappointed? What was he ever thinking? Was he ever thinking? He always seemed so emotionless –

“Nephew,” Zarkon’s voice interrupted his thought process, “what are you doing here?”

Keith didn’t know what to answer for a moment. He couldn’t just explain how bored he was on the castle, and by listening in, he had hoped to find some intergalactic secrets he could hang above the heads of some officers, like Sendak, who had always hated him. 

“I heard what you and Haggar were talking about and I think I’m old enough to go on a mission, and seeing as I’m your nephew, I should be going on the Red Lion one. I really want to be doing something on this ship.” He blurted it all out in one go, hoping he sounded more confident than he was.

Zarkon took some time to think. He was often deadly silent, but when his voice rung out, everyone was sure to listen.

“I agree. You shall go on the Red Lion Mission. Sendak is the commander chief of this operation, and you will respect him and his every order. Don’t make me regret this. And, if you fail, don’t expect a warm welcome here, if there is any.”

The conversation had ended after this, and Keith left the room, excited of what the future had to old.

Because, you see, Keith had never agreed with what the Galra had been doing for centuries. 

There was a huge library on the main ship, and he spent most of his time in there, seeing as there weren’t any other Galra his own age. And, through all this reading, he learnt about the other cultures around the universe; how the Pelrusians had a habit of being hoarders, which made them wonderful negotiators and traders, and how the Yulins were known to only leave their underground homes twice a year, to watch meteor showers, because they considered them to be the reincarnations of their ancestors, or that the Klingees had the ability to change colour depending on their mood or the food they were eating.

And with all that information, Keith had always wondered how it was possible to wish to exterminate races after races, when each one of them contained secrets and myths and knowledge that no other had. And though he knew that no one else came into the library, seeing as he had the only key and that it had been covered in dust the first time he came in, he had thought that his peers had some common sense.

Unfortunately, that was not the case. He hated to see Zarkon’s smile when one of the officers declared that a new planet had been conquered – or destroyed. He loathed the smell of Quintessence that came from that one room in the ship. And most of all, he despised belonging to the same race as those creating such atrocities. 

As a Prince, he was appointed to stand by Zarkon’s side during each war meeting. He was obliged to attend parades, or to sit by silently while, deep down in the Galra prisons, prisoners were being tortured, killed, and forced to fight.

He had been wanting to escape for years now, he had been longing for an out. And maybe the Red Lion Mission was the solution. Perhaps he could fly off far away, where constellations hadn’t yet been mapped out by Zarkon. Perhaps he could fight for power, and reach a rank so high that he could contest Zarkon’s power. Perhaps he could even risk killing Zarkon, imprisoning him, and take control of the Galra empire. He could bring peace that way, a peace that the universe deserved. And it’s with those thoughts that he arrived on the ship Sendak commanded.

He had expected, at first, little activity, just staying in the control room, maybe discussing a few strategies with other officers. What he had no thought would happen, though, is that he would jump straight into action.

Indeed, when he arrived, he had been told that his uncle had just sent a message to the Altean castle, and that the ship had to go attack it. He had gotten ready for battle, and was trying to find the room that was where he would be sent to fight, but he ended up in another one. It had a tall ceiling, and there were a few small ships in it. But what caught his eye was that, in the middle it, was the Red Lion. It was surrounded by a red protection field, and it looked like it was off.

Keith walked closer to it, and touched the protection field. It didn’t burn, and it didn’t shock him. It felt… different. It was as if something ran up his spine, through his veins, all the way through his brains. His finger twitched, and his eyesight focused on the Lion’s eyes.

He had, of course, read all about the Paladins and Voltron, and he thought it to be wonderful. The engineering, the science, and the thought process behind it all was simply spectacular. He knew, though, that it was the Lion that chose its Paladin. And that the Red Lion was the hardest to tame. But it wouldn’t hurt to try, right? Red was his favourite colour. He pressed on the field, and nothing happened. He then knocked. Again, nothing happened. He sighed, and leaned against the field.

And, for the second time in a short period, he was on the floor. 

The force field had disappeared, and he was now looking up at the Red Lion and its glowing yellow eyes. And Keith felt weird, as if something in his mind unlocked, as if a wall that had been set up so high before just fell. He felt as if he was being overwhelmed with both knowledge and ignorance, bliss and wonder. 

It suddenly went from total silence to utter chaos. The speakers were announcing a code indigo, which meant that there were intruders in the ship. He guessed quickly that it was the Paladins, and that they were here to take the Red Lion back. His Red Lion.

A thought occurred to him: this was his chance to get out. This was his chance to escape the dictatorial system of Zarkon, and to save the universe. It was now or never. And with that spirit, he stayed by the Lion’s leg, and waited, until he saw two figures, dressed in Paladin outfits, running in the room.

 

-

 

So, that Galra guy was kind of pretty. His skin wasn’t so much a deep colour as it was light, unlike other Galra. His eyes weren’t yellow, but had irises, just like Lance or one of the humans had. They were purple, and had grey and gold flecks. He had light freckles scattered on his cheeks and nose, just a shade darker than his purple skin. He had long ears, furry ears. But aside from his ears and skin, he looked exactly like a human. The way he looked at Shiro and Lance, though, was out of any world. He had a light smirk across his face, his stance was relaxed, and his ears were twitching. Lance assumed that they were like Altean ears, and that they twitched when faced with a stressful or interesting situation, one that spiked curiosity.

And he was standing by the Lion’s leg, which. Odd. Because a Lion that didn’t have a Paladin was programmed to have a force field around it. And this one didn’t. Unless the Galra had hacked, in some way or other, the defence system of the Red Lion, which wouldn’t surprise Lance, actually. They were evil like that.

However, that was near impossible, because the Lions’ defence system was near impossible to crack, and only a trained Altean scientist and engineer could manage. Which only left another solution, one that Lance did definitely not want to think about.

“Who are you?” Shiro’s voice rung out in the empty hangar, because if it weren’t for him, Lance wouldn’t have said a word, which could have gotten awkward.

“I’m Keith, the Prince of the Galra. And from what you’re wearing, I can safely assume that you’re the Black and Blue Paladins, and that you came here to get the Red Lion, am I correct?”

“Yes –”

“I want to make a deal.”

To that, Lance’s ears twitched. Galra had a reputation to often offer very bad deals, and to be quite untrustworthy. What kind of deal could the Galra Prince want anyway? He had all the money in the world, was probably one of the most protected individuals in the universe, and could definitely order the two Paladins to be killed there and then.

“I want to go with you.” Keith had said this, so matter-of-factly, that Lance was sure he heard Shiro gasp. What?

“What?” Lance thought aloud, “why would you want that? You’re a Prince, a Galra Prince!”

“Exactly. I don’t want to be a Prince anymore. Especially not a Galra one.” He had said the last word with a sneer. Who was he?

“Even if we considered it, why would we ever accept?”

“For one simple reason.” His smirk grew, and he turned towards the Red Lion. “I believe I am the Red Paladin.” And with that, he tapped on the Lion’s leg and its jaw opened, ready to let its Paladin enter and pilot it.


	2. Chapter 02

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (This chapter is shorter than the first one I'm sorry but it's all part of a plan i swear) 
> 
> I got so much positive feedback from all of you and !!!!!!! It brought me to tears (not quite but close i'm so emo) and i'm sososo happy some people are enjoying this!! Writing this is super duper fun too so aaaaah
> 
> Love you guys!!

“…What?”

Lance and Shiro had agreed to take Keith with them, mostly because, apparently, he was the Red Lion’s Paladin.

When they had arrived back at the castle, the Blue Lion followed by the Red Lion, Allura had stared in confusion as Shiro and Lance both exited from the Blue Lion. Because how could the Red Lion be piloting itself? Her confusion only grew when she saw the Lion’s mouth open, and out of it step out a _Galra_. 

Shiro quickly started explaining the whole story – how they had gone in, but the alarms had started _blaring_ , and how they had seen a Galra boy standing, leaning, against the Red Lion, whom they introduced as Keith, and then his proposition.

The four others just stared.

Pidge and Hunk had been told all along that Galra were bad, they were evil, and only wanted destruction. Shiro, who had only had a bad experience with the Galra, was _defending_ this one, and the two friends couldn’t even begin to recognise the aliens Shiro had told them about, the ones he encountered during his imprisonment, in the boy that was standing behind him and Lance.

He wasn’t shy, per say, and wasn’t standing cowering on himself. He held his head high, like a Prince, his hands behind his back, and eyes examining each of their faces. No, it wasn’t his attitude that distinguished him from the Galra they had heard about; it as his skin.

“Aren’t your eyes supposed to be yellow, dude?”

Allura gaped at Hunk, Coran’s eyes blew open, Shiro looked embarrassed enough for everyone, Lance tried to hold back a snicker, and Pidge nodded their head in agreement.

“I mean, I’m sorry to sound so honest and all, but these four,” he gestured to the three Alteans and Shiro, “have been telling us all about how Galra were really purple and furry, and had eyes that could, and would, stare into your soul and munch it to pieces. But, to me, your eyes look pretty normal.”

“Yeah, only slightly more purple, but that’s still a shade of blue, so?” Pidge added, nudging their glasses higher on their nose.

Keith looked surprise to be talked to, and held back a second. It wasn’t as if that question hadn’t been asked to him countless times before, but it took him of guard how frank the two people – were they humans? he had read something about them, a long time ago, he thought – asked the question.

He shrugged as an answer. “I don’t really know, to be honest. Some rumours say it’s because my father wasn’t a Galra, others say it’s to remind me how un-Galra I actually am.”

“Do you mind if I take a look at them one day? They seem quite odd, and I think it’d be interesting to –” 

“Pidge, though I am sure your earnest concern with Keith’s eyes is purely out of the kindest interest, we haven’t even introduced ourselves.” Allura then looked at Keith. “My name is Allura, princess of Altea, this here his Coran,” he nodded, “over there you have Pidge and Hunk,” they waved and smiled at him, “and you probably have been introduced to Shiro and Lance over there. Lance never stops talking about himself, I’m sure he bored your ears off with his entire life story, and I apologise on his behalf.”

“Actually,” Keith answered, eyes flicking from Allura to Lance, “he never did introduce himself. Shiro told me a bit about himself, but all I heard of Lance was his name, from Shiro too, by the way.”

Lance lowered his eyes. He didn’t know why he hadn’t talked to Keith at all, it’s not like he was intimidated or anything, because he definitely wasn’t. He had met Galra before the war started, had talked to them, and managed to make them laugh. He was also known – or had been known? – to be a wonderful negotiator, an exquisite spokesperson, and an unbashful communicator. So why was it that, when faced with Keith, he was rendered speechless? 

He took a deep breath, put on a smile, looked up, and “I just didn’t want him to feel overwhelmed! Do you really believe me to be this _inconsiderate_? As the prince of Altea, it was my duty to make him feel comfortable. I was going to present myself afterward anyway. It’s like this one time, we were appointed to meet the parliament of planet Xanry, but I noticed the Xanrian messenger to be nervous so, I, the kindest person in the universe, decided to not talk so he could be more at ease. Of course, it worked, and –” 

“Thank you, Lance, but you can stop talking now.”

“I just wanted to help!”

Keith felt a headache grow. He had left the Galra to be free from any pain, but Lance was looking to be an even worse kind of nuisance.

He had been stunned, at first, by the Altean’s presence. Hadn’t they been extinct for ten thousand years? There was no doubt in his mind that the boy in front of him was one of them. He was also, however, wearing Paladin gear. That’s when Keith realised why the Red Lion mission had happened: the Alteans had woken up, reviving the Lions of Voltron in suit. He had enjoyed their surprised faces when they saw him standing by the Red Lion’s leg, and when their shock grew greater as he entered the Lion.

However, when he was left, alone, in the Lion, he had felt overwhelmed. Keith had never felt such a strong connection to another being, and the bond that linked the Lion, _his Lion_ , was so powerful that he was in awe. The technology, too, stunned him. He had read that Alteans were some form of genius beings, and he had no doubt of that when he saw the cockpit of Red.

 _Red_. She had whispered something to him, a thought maybe. She told him how to control her, how to manoeuvre through the Galra ship into space, had reminded him to follow the Blue Lion ( _Blue_ , she had told Keith, was her best friend apparently, and she had been very sad to be separated from her for so long) and how to enter the castle.

 _A castle owned by the Alteans_ , Keith repeated in his head. He still couldn’t quite believe it, as he was walking next to Shiro and behind Allura towards the main control room.

Once they were all in the room, and Allura had taken her place by the control panel, she spoke up.

“So, Keith, you must be wondering why exactly the Red Lion opened up to you. Well –”

“Red let me in because I am her Paladin.” Keith interrupted, in a determined voice, “and if you want to explain to me what Voltron is exactly, you don’t have to. I read all about it back on the Galra main ship.”

Allura stared at him. She wasn’t expecting a _Galra_ to know about Voltron, especially not through reading. It was Lance, though, who answered. “Wait, you read?”

“Yes, of course. Why wouldn’t I?”

“Because Galra all seem stupid enough to only follow orders without even thinking, that’s why!”

“That may be the case for some of the soldiers, but it isn’t for me.” He stared at Lance harder, and, “Why do you look so surprised?”

“You don’t look like the type to read! And anyway, if so many Galra read, like you said, about other cultures, why do they insist on persecuting other races?”

“Not all Galra are bad, and I did say that some of them do follow orders blindly, if you’d just listen! You’ve only encountered Galra soldiers, am I correct? There _are_ some civilians who stay out of political affairs.”

“So, do you agree in their passivity then? In them not rebelling?”

“Of course not! I’m here, aren’t I? I am the living and breathing definition of a rebel!”

“Oh, how noble of you!” Lance then pitched his voice, “Hi, my name’s Keith and I’m so righteous, I have to –”

“Lance, Keith, stop arguing.” Shiro’s voice cut through their words. “You can’t expect Voltron to work well, if you two keep arguing.”

“He started it!” Keith and Lance had both shouted this at the same time, and had stared at each other, eyes sending daggers.

A few moments passed, before Allura started again.

“So, as it seems that Keith knows what his role in Voltron is,” she shot a glance at Lance before he could speak up and argue, “we must prepare a plan of action. Fortunately for us, we have a Galra on our team, who knows a lot about their strategy and way of fighting. Our main focus at this point, however, is for you to form Voltron. We wouldn’t want to be in the middle of battle and be unable to fight the enemy properly!”

As soon as she said those words, everything happened quickly: Coran gave Keith his suit and Bayard – a sword, to which Lance gave a disapproving look: it was way to cool for Keith – while Allura led Shiro to the hangar where the Black Lion was. With all the other Lions waiting in front of it, the doors opened, and as the light filtered through the room, illuminating the Black Lion’s head, Shiro held his breath – it was all sinking in, finally.

They all climbed into their respective Lions, and were about to go try form Voltron, when Allura’s voice rang through their headpieces.

“A Galra ship is attacking, get ready, form Voltron!”

 _Just our luck_ , Keith thought.

 

 

-

 

 

“That was _amazing_! We managed to form Voltron so quickly, and we ridiculed those Galra!”

Pidge’s excited squeals made everyone smile. They had fought against the Galra, and had _won_. It was all quite overwhelming, for every one of them. It had been their first fight, and though at first, they had a problem syncing up, they managed, and pulverised the battle ship. They were all giddy, and could barely stay in one place. They kept recalling parts of the battle, or commenting on their weaknesses, and they all felt good.

(“Remember when you shouted ‘I’m a leg!’, Hunk? Hilarious!”

“Or when Keith said we were all going to die, nearly brought me to tears!”

“What about when Shiro started singing ‘Livin’ on a Prayer”! I nearly forgot that song” “Oh so that was what you were muttering? It sounded really weird and off.” “Don’t insult Bon Jovi, Keith! He was a genius of his time.”)

Still high on victory, they all separated, impatient for a sleep well-deserved, and paradoxically also reckless and wide awake, and went to their separate rooms; Allura, Coran and Lance towards the royal quarters, and the other four in the Paladin rooms.

 

 

-

 

 

Some nights, even when Altea as still alive and thriving, Lance would come out to the main control room, and activated the Space Visionary. He had always felt so close to space, in sync to it, in a way, and had always adored watching it. In the castle, as soon as he was of age to be making requests, he had demanded a room with the biggest window, so when they travelled to different planets for political affairs, he could sit on his bed and gaze outside. He’d see other ships crossing their path, planets over planets and stars over stars. Sometimes, he wouldn’t even sleep, forgetting all about it, to favour looking out and discovering.

However, despite his love for space, he had always had a fear of discovery – not in way where he’d fear discovering new aspects of the unknown, but in a way where he’d be terrified of taking the first step towards a heart of darkness. Lance wasn’t a scaredy-cat, and was brave enough to face fights and trials, but he always hesitated, even slightly, before taking on a mission, in which he’d have to leave his home and face the mysterious and strange. He had been teased a lot as a child for that, and had learned to conceal his fear. But that didn’t mean he liked it now.

He liked safety, sue him.

That night, after all the other Paladins had gone to their rooms, Lance had sneaked out of his to go to the main control room. He approached the control panel, enabled the Space Visionary, and lay down on the floor, looking up.

During the day, he hadn’t had time to overthink the whole situation; everything had happened so fast: he had woken up with Allura and Coran after ten thousand years, had gone to fetch the Lions with new Paladins – humans, to add to it all – and had formed an alliance with a Galra, which he still found hard to believe. As Allura’s cousin, the new crown of Altea, his duty was to take care of her, so, he made it his mission to make her feel okay, and not let her be affected by what had happened.

But, as he found himself staring up at where Altea had once been, at a cluster of dead stars and abandoned rocks, reality came crashing down around Lance; his family was gone; all his friends were dead; the war was still raging on; he was alone. He suddenly felt as if he couldn’t breathe, as if a weight had been placed upon his chest, and was suffocating him.

He had had a panic attack once, just before his first speech as Prince of Altea, on a planet he can’t even remember the name of. He had been so stressed out, and though his speech was a short one, just to confirm what Allura had been saying, he still felt all the pressure in the world on his shoulders. Allura had found him, hiding behind a curtain, knees pressed to his chest, head tucked in them, hands gripping his hair. She had held him then, reassuring him; she had dried his tears and told him to kick ass.

And he did. He went out, in front of the royal court of the planet, and had told his speech without hesitating. He held his head high, and left with a huge grin on his face as the sound of praises surrounded him. Since that day, he had never had a panic attack – until today, that is.

Lance gripped his hair as he sat up, and gaped at the darkness of the room. His breath quickened, and his vision went blank, dots of white and black covering everything. He couldn’t think, couldn’t move, and desperately tried to regain focus. He forced himself to stay quiet, wouldn’t let anyone know how _weak_ he was.

The tears kept flowing, that night. Even after his breathing had regained stability, Lance quieted each sob with the back of his hand, pressing it against his mouth. He had his back against one of the walls, and was still looking up at Altea. He only left the room when the clock on the control panel beeped, announcing that the other residents of the castle were about to wake up.

 

 

What Lance didn’t know, though, was that Keith had been watching him, hiding behind the door, and had been too afraid to hold him.

**Author's Note:**

> idk???? I've never done this please be nice!!  
> It's really really stressful for me to post this but I hoep you'll like it!! It's a chaptered fic and I don't know yet how long it'll be but!! I'll try not to forget about it!!
> 
> (talk to me on tumblr @ keith-and-lance.tumblr.com )


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